OTTAWA — One of the longest-serving and most combative MPs in the House of Commons is packing it in to try his hand at municipal politics.

A sobbing Jim Karygiannis, who had been the MP for the Toronto riding of Scarborough-Agincourt since 1988, told the House of Commons Tuesday afternoon that he would resign immediately to take a crack at getting a seat on Toronto city council.

“Effective immediately, I am tendering my resignation as the Member of Parliament for Scarborough-Agincourt," he said.

“Over the past 25 years, I have had the time of my life. This is a place where you can make a difference. I think I have made a difference.”

Karygiannis will run to replace Mike Del Grande as representative of Ward 39, Scarborough-Agincourt.

“I am proud to have served the people of Scarborough-Agincourt and hope to continue to serve them in the future in another capacity," he said.

In his long career, Karygiannis never made it into cabinet but was a fierce champion for Canada's Greek community — he was born in Athens — and other immigrant communities in Toronto's north end.

With Karygiannis' departure the longest continuously serving MPs are Bloc Quebecois MP Louis Plamondon -— he came into the House in 1984 as a Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservative — and Liberal Lawrence MacAulay who, like Karygiannis, first won a seat in the 1988 election.